Here's Why Halle Berry's Storm Wasn't In Deadpool & Wolverine

Ryan Reynolds wasn't going to hold anything back when it came time for Deadpool's arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A big part of his triumphant MCU debut was packing "Deadpool & Wolverine" with some of the biggest and best cameos yet seen in a Marvel film. The movie is positively brimming with guest appearances, from Channing Tatum's Gambit to Henry Cavill's "Cavillrine" — a cameo that some would argue proves Cavill has been in the wrong superhero universe the whole time.

But aside from these fun "what if" guest spots, "Deadpool & Wolverine" was also concerned with paying tribute to the now-shuttered Fox Marvel Universe. Prior to Disney's takeover of 20th Century Fox, the studio was cranking out X-Men movies left and right, and gave rise to Hugh Jackman's mighty Logan/Wolverine in the process. If Ryan Reynolds was going to bring Jackman out of Wolverine retirement for his big MCU debut, he might as well turn the whole thing into an homage to the Fox era — which is exactly what he tried to do.

Unfortunately, not everyone from the erstwhile Fox universe made the cut. Notably absent from "Deadpool & Wolverine" were James Marsden's Cyclops, Patrick Stewart's Professor X, and Halle Berry's Storm — all fan-favorites from the X-Men movies, and all missing from Reynolds' and director Shawn Levy's celebration of that Fox period. But why? Well, it seems we now at least have an idea as to why Berry wasn't onboard.

Whether "Deadpool & Wolverine" succeeded in giving the Fox Marvel movies a fitting send-off will depend on whether the film struck you as a light-hearted, good ol' time at the movies or a cynical effort to pander to fans and resurrect the flailing MCU. This debate has already torn the /Film team apart, but since "Deadpool & Wolverine" made more than a billion dollars at the global box office, I'd say the project was a success either way.

Still, there's no getting around the fact that several fan favorites from the Fox Marvel movies were missing from the party. One major absence was Halle Berry's Ororo Munroe/Storm, who appeared across multiple X-Men movies and remains a beloved iteration of the character to this day. Apparently, the simple reason for Berry not appearing in "Deadpool & Wolverine" was that she wasn't officially asked.

Speaking to Comicbook, the actor revealed that she was informally asked to return as Storm by Ryan Reynolds' wife, Blake Lively, who voices Lady Deadpool in "Deadpool & Wolverine." But that was the last Berry heard about it. "Blake asked me one time," Berry explained. "I ran into her at a Marc Jacobs fashion show, and she said, 'Would you ever be in my husband's movie as Storm?' I said, 'Yeah, if he asked me,' but he never asked me."

We've already learned that Josh Brolin's Cable didn't make the cut for "Deadpool & Wolverine" simply because he'd only just appeared in "Deadpool 2" prior to this latest installment — though there's no ruling out the idea that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige didn't want Brolin appearing in the MCU as anyone but Thanos himself. Now, Halle Berry has confirmed that she didn't come back simply because she wasn't asked.

Look, in a film that is basically, as /Film's Chris Evangelista put it, one long disappointing cameo-fest, you have to make some decisions about who and who not to cast. In that sense, it's unsurprising that not every fan-favorite character could come back for "Deadpool & Wolverine," but Berry's Storm certainly seems like it would have been a major crowd-pleasing moment. For a film that comes across as desperate to please fans, you'd think Ryan Reynolds would have at least tried to pursue Berry for a cameo. I also can't imagine that Kevin Feige was being too stingy with the budget for this movie, since it was supposed to be the film that turned the MCU's fortunes around with its dizzying array of guest stars and dogged commitment to fan service.

Still, while we didn't see Berry return this time around, now that "Deadpool & Wolverine" has absolutely obliterated the box office, you better believe Feige and Marvel Studios are going to keep up this practice of cameo-ing their way to success in the future, so there's every chance we'll see the return of Fox-era Storm in the near future. "Secret Wars," anyone?